English Axminster & Wilton
| Viewing carpets 1 to 15 of 15 | Pages: 1 |
10.10 x 1.10
BB3299
An early 20th century antique English Axminster runner, the red field with vine forms and abstract curving leaves and vines in shades of red, beige, blue and brown within a thin floral stripe frame.
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11.9 x 12.0
BB3252
An early 20th century English Axminster rug, the red field with irregular curving leaf and vinery forms overall in shades of red, brown, beige and blue within a thin floral meander stripe.
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19.9 x 13.9
BB2350
An English Axminster from the early 20th century, the camel field with rosettes and abstract palmettes linked overall by irregular whimsical vine patterns within a similar border.
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22.7 x 20.3
BB1796
An early 20th century English Axminster rug, the saffron field with a overall pattern of highly-stylized palmettes, flowering tendrils and flowerheads within a spacious sand rosette border.
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18.5 x 15.5
BB1497
A late 19th century antique English Axminster, the cinnamon field with pink flowering vinery around an enlarged pastel green medallion formed of lush garden and flowering vine within a similar border with lush scrolling feathery leaves.
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15.3 x 11.4
BB1406
An early 20th century English Axminster rug, the red field with scattered green leaves around blue and beige floral medallions containing floral motifs and with irregular playful edges within a dark blue border of palmettes, flowerheads and abstract viner
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13.2 x 14.2
BB1392
A round early 19th century English Axminster carpet of exceptional charm, the sand field with a golden leaf roundel containing four fish around a naturalistic lion head within a border of finely-drawn mythological animals, palmettes and vinery.
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22.0 x 6.13
BB1375
An early 20th century antique English Axminster and Wilton carpet, the unusual pale peach and green shaded field with scattered leafs, fleurons and overblown stylized split-leaves overall, with bold cusped red spandrels within a sand palmette border.
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15.6 x 14.4
BB1316
A late 19th century English Axminster antique carpet, the black field with pink floral branches around a yellow-vinery formed red cusped medallion containing a leafy yellow and ivory floral centerpiece with an inner cartouche frame and an outer red palmet
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30.8 x 17.7
BB1287
An English Axminster rug from the mid 19th century the cobalt blue field with a restrained allover design of staggered floral motifs within a dramatic scrolling vinery and enlarged paisley border in red, light blue, beige and ivory.
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15.5 x 13.2
BB1203
An exceptional late 18th English Axminster rug (sizea djusted), the cocoa field having a subtle miniature lozenge lattice overall beneath overblown lush floral bouquets within a light brown border with garland and seashells in the corners.
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19.5 x 11.2
BB1201
A bold late 19th century antique English Axminster rug of exceptional charm and vitality, the rich red field with enlarged paisleys and angular vinery with lush blossoms framing a pair of beige miniature medallions at the center, all within a blue palmett
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27.9 x 13.5
BB1162
An early 20th century Axminster rug from England, the shaded pastel blue and green field with flowering vinery and stylized palmette trellis overall within a red palmette and serrated leaf border.
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14.0 x 10.2
BB0749
An early 20th century English Axminster carpet, the voluptuous paisley corners almost overtaking the rich red field with covered with scattered floral and geometric motifs, within an unusually narrow border.
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19.2 x 11.10
BB0015
A late 19th century English Axminster antique rug with an unusual Oriental 18th century Persian vase design on a dark caramel field with voluptuous pinks and beiges framed by a beige border.
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| Viewing carpets 1 to 15 of 15 | Pages: 1 |
English Axminster & Wilton
The history of the Axminster carpet started in 1755, when Thomas Whitty opened a carpet manufacturing company in the town of Axminster, in the county of Devon. The development of carpet manufacture in England during this period was enabled by laws which were designed to promote locally produced textiles, out of concern that foreign textiles were dominating the market, particularly by the French Savonnerie carpets. These early Axminster rugs were hand knotted, and they quickly became the undisputed choice for wealthy aristocracy. Antique Axminster carpets and rugs grace the floors of Chatsworth and Brighton Pavillion to name a few and were bought by George III and Queen Charlotte who visited the factory in the 18th Century.
Some of the most famous Axminster carpets were designed by reknowned architect and furniture maker Robert Adam. The elegant carpet he designed for Harewood House circa 1770 currently resides at the Metropolitan Museum is not dissimilar to the Lansdowne carpet, circa 1775. They both employ classical motifs based on the antique finds at Herculaneum and Pompeii in the late 18th century. They share a sense of orderly symmetry in the overall design using Palladian elements such as columns, pediments, architraves, trophy compartments and a string of bell flowers along with classical masks. The Axminster rugs he designed often mimicked the plasterwork of the ceiling above. He used nearly garish intensity of colors which have faded over time.
An Axminster carpet is a type of pile carpet named for Axminster, a town in Southwest England which continues to produce carpets today. These carpets are made distinctive by their bright colors, and they are traditionally made from wool. Like the French carpets they often featured classical motifs borrowed from Renaissance architectural elements and floral patterns; while a few designs embraced Oriental patterns. William Morris and CFA Voysey are famous designers who drew patterns for Axminster carpets and rugs in the late 19th/early 20th century. Most people associate Axminster with quality, since it has been a renowned name in carpet making for centuries.